42 Strong Hearts

Paulina showed surprise at the sight of both of them.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. "Dominik, you should rest ..."

"No, I should finally come out among people. For too long my world has been limited to one man. And I would like to thank you for looking after her" he gave her a huge bouquet, which he spent almost half an hour preparing in the florist's shop.

"That for me ...? Thank you!"

Paulina looked at him intensely, for a long time until her eyes were glazed.

"Hey, are you okay?" Andrzej was concerned about her condition.

"Of course," she snapped. "I'm just glad to see Dominik. And these flowers are lovely."

"You're not happy to see me?"

"Not so much to cry."

"Thank you," Śliwiński interjected.

Paulina looked up at him with teary eyes and smiled warmly. Dominik thought that was how his mother should have seen him.

"Let's not stand there," she said. "Please come to the table."

"Paulina ..." Dominik turned to her. The woman looked at him. "Will you please me and join us? Please."

His proposal pleased the woman, it was visible in her eyes and smile.

"With pleasure."

They sat down at the same table as before. Dominik really liked the atmosphere of this place, although it was difficult for him to feel at ease outside the house, among strangers. Marek was always the only person he went out with anywhere and due to the nature of their relationship, they always had to be careful not to revile it, so he could never feel at ease in public. However, Paulina's restaurant, warm, cozy and really family-like, made him feel good here.

But most of all it was people. Dominik never thought that he would meet a woman who would be like a friend to him, knowing his orientation.

"I read today's article," she began the conversation. "I don't usually buy gossip magazines, even the one where Andrzej works, but my daughter saw your picture on the cover and she wanted to know what they wrote about you. Whether we like it or not, we both read it."

"Your daughter ... Martynka, right? Andrzej's goddaughter?"

She looked surprised.

"Did you remember?"

"I try to remember important things."

And this one was important for him. Dates of birthdays, anniversaries, names of family members of his friends ... Not that he had many to remember so far, but each of them was even more valuable.

His answer seemed to please Paulina. She looked at him as warmly as if she were the sun. It was enjoyable, but also embarrassing. Dominik blushed and looked at Andrzej, who was staring at him as usual. He felt his blush grow larger.

Being here with them was a strange but pleasant experience. These people were for him. They wanted to be. When he, wounded and all alone, he saw no hope and future for himself, they ran to him and offered him a hand. Despite his orientation, they cared about him.

"Did you like it?" Andrzej's voice broke him out of his thoughts. The question was not, however, directed to him.

"Very much," she admitted. "It doesn't often happen that the press writes favorably about someone. I think this article will attract many people's kindness to you."

"Do you really think so?" asked Nowicki.

"Of course. True, there will also be negative voices, but that's always the case. But Martynka is already tormenting me about a gray Persian cat" she laughed out loud.

"Sorry," Dominik felt shy.

"No need. I knocked that cat out of her head, explaining that if you are able to resist temptation, so should she. Setting you up as a role model has worked."

"I don't know if I'm a good role model ..."

Paulina grew serious.

"Maybe this is not my place to say this, because we've known each other so recently, but I consider you a very good person who works hard to bring joy to others. Why shouldn't someone like you be a role model for an eight-year-old girl?"

Her answer surprised him. After all, it was obvious that his orientation could not be a model for anyone. He wanted to tell her this, but Paulina continued:

"When her father found out I was pregnant, he hit me. He thought he was so wonderful that I want to catch him on a baby. He stated that I am a whore who can't even be fucked properly because she's about to go with her belly. Believe me, when it comes to male role models, I would a hundred times prefer to give my daughter an example from you than from her own father."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know ..." Śliwiński felt confused.

"Nothing to talk about," she returned to smiling. "It was a long time ago and I have it behind me. Almost completely," she added. "It's not easy to share such experiences. Even to Andrzej, I confessed it only when I met you. Although I loved Łukasz, with this one behavior he crossed everything between us. Even his right to a daughter."

Dominik felt shame as he realized how pathetic his own behavior was. Every day, hundreds of women suffered violence at the hands of their partners - he knew that there were also opposite cases - no less the victims try to move on, just like Paulina. They do not take time to feel sorry for themselves or sink into an unproductive depression that only makes them feel worse. Dominik was hurt by his lover, but if everyone who had suffered any suffering because of love behaved as pitifully as he did, humanity would have long stopped in development.

He discreetly looked at Andrzej, who, while eating, was answering a question of Paulina.

The photographer was brave and strong. The first time they met face to face, it was when he saved Dominik from Marczak trying to rape him. Everything happened so quickly, and Śliwiński was so stunned by the physical and emotional pain that he did not immediately realize how heroic Andrzej's behavior was. Only later, after the first shock was over, did he realize how dangerous the situation was and who he should thank for saving him.

He then went downstairs, aware that there was a strange man in his living room. The man who had just demanded twenty thousand of him for a picture he made, now under his bedroom, was watching over his safety. Dominik wasn't sure he could trust him completely, but he had no one else - not after what Marek had done to him. He turned on the light in the kitchen and looked at the couch where the sleeping body rested.